The email device maker said its BlackBerry 8700f is now compatible with French wireless carrier Orange’s EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution) networks. It will be the first EDGE-enabled Blackberry handheld in Europe, the 8700f is identical to the 8700 models that have been released by Research in Motion (RIM) in Canada.
The BlackBerry 8700f will be available to Orange’s enterprise customers from December 15, 2005, with retail availability planned for January 2006. RIM said it will roll out the handset to Orange’s other European customers next year as well.
Last week, RIM lowered its new-subscribers projection by 8 percent for the rest of the year after the Cingular Wireless version of its BlackBerry 8700 Series and its BlackBerry 7130 Series for Verizon failed to ship in early November.
We are pleased to partner with Orange to launch the BlackBerry 8700f in France, commented Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, RIM. The new BlackBerry 8700f was engineered to provide the ultimate balance of performance, design and function and Orange’s high-speed EDGE network will allow customers to experience the full potential of this device.
The BlackBerry 8700f from Orange will come with a powerful Intel PXA901 processor that incorporates the latest technological advances in wireless communications and features 64 MB of flash memory and 16 MB of SRAM. As a result, it will offer significantly faster Web browsing, application performance and attachment viewing as well as larger application and data storage.
The BlackBerry 8700f is a revolutionary mobile communications device that leverages all the benefits of Orange’s high-speed EDGE network. This is a significant innovation and its launch is an important step forward in our strategic relationship with Research In Motion, said Jean Marie Culpin, vice president of business solutions, Orange France.
